Someone once said to me, “There are veterinarians who help some animal rescues. You are not one of those vets. You are an animal rescuer who just happens to be a veterinarian.“
I believe every animal has a story. I am fortunate enough to be able to share some of them.

Petfinder Featured Pet

Saturday, July 30, 2011

A young lady that worked at my clinic a few years ago while in high school, has been visiting the clinic lately. Her name is Alexis, and she is close friends with my veterinary assistant, Miguel, who most of you know by now from other stories.

Now that Alexis is a young adult, and is living on her own, she has decided it has become time for her to become a doggie mom. She has always wanted a dog of her own, and the time has come to make that dream a reality. She visits our clinic, and meets our adoptables but is waiting for "just the right connection". I think most of us that are pet parents understand exactly what she means. After several meet and greets, Alexis would leave the clinic a little disappointed that she had not met "the one" but hopeful that the right dog was out there for her.

A few weeks ago, we took in a pair of adorable puppies.

These two adorable puppies came from another animal shelter that was unable to place them on their adoption floor because the puppies were timid and did not pass the "personality" testing. So this adorable pair of six month old pups were made available for rescue to other qualified rescue groups willing to take them into their adoption program.

When Miguel saw these cuties, he sent his friend Alexis a text message.

"When you get a chance, you should stop at the clinic. We have two cute Cocker spaniel mix puppies for you to see."

Alexis stared at her phone, reading the words in disbelief, as a brief recollection of a recent dream overwhelmed her.

Entering adulthood was not the only reason Alexis chose now to become a pet parent. She was hoping a puppy of her own would help her heal and adjust to a tragic change in her life. Just five months ago, her father died unexpectedly in a car accident. She has been struggling to cope with the loss that occured just 8 days before her 20th birthday.

Just a few weeks prior to Miguel's text, Alexis was on a family vacation in Colorado. On the last night of this family trip, she had a dream. In this dream, her father and her grandfather (also deceased, and with whom she had shared a special bond) stood before her, alive and well. It gave Alexis a warm feeling of comfort to be so close to them again, even if only in a dream.

As the dream continued, her Grandpa said, "These are the puppies for you, Alexis." With the men, were two very cute, shy, cocker spaniel puppies.

Her father smiled in amusement as Alexis seemed overwhelmed, joyful, and definitely caught off guard by the two puppies romping at their feet, unsure of which puppy to call her own.

Her Grandpa turned to her again, "You have to pick one, Alexis." and he gave her a gentle smile.

As Alexis awoke, she felt the comfort of having seen them again, but the visit created a new longing for them to be with her now. She wished that last night her Dad had chased her up the stairs growling like a tiger, the way he did at bedtime when she was just a girl. She longed for him to be there as she climbed out of bed, waiting to give her that big morning bear hug meant to wake her up and start her day.

The presence of the two puppies in the dream made little sense to Alexis, despite her ongoing search for her own dog. She would often pray to God that he could help her through this tragedy. She would ask God to help her find a puppy, and help her be patient in her search. She would often "talk" to her Dad about getting a puppy, asking if he could help her find the right one. When you consider this, perhaps the strange presence of two puppies in that dream was not so strange.

As Alexis stood looking at her phone two weeks later, reading the words texted to her by her friend Miguel, the dream suddenly made sense. She knew before meeting them that, as her Grandpa had said in the dream, "These are the puppies for you."

She begged Miguel to put a hold on the pups until she could get to the clinic, fearful they would get adopted in the few hours it would take before she could make it to the clinic.

She arrived at the clinic a few short hours after the text. As her dream had predicted, she had a difficult time choosing which puppy would be hers, and she could hear her Grandpa's words, "You have to pick one, Alexis". And slowly, the choice was made.

Meet Izy, one of two dogs that had been deemed unadoptable by one animal shelter's standards. She is now a beloved family member and providing the gift of comfort and unconditional love. Two lives have been completely changed for the better.

It seems as though Izy was destined to provide the comfort, the humor, the occasional stress of pet ownership to a young woman who needed help to heal, a woman who cried out for help in finding her canine companion, a woman who received that help from the two people she least expected would be able to help her.

While we struggle with loss, the truth is, we never lose those we love, and Little Miss Izy is tangible proof that love can surpass all boundaries.

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Sunday, July 24, 2011

(colored text is linked to the original blog...click on over and refresh your memory!)

I am thrilled to report that Iowa Dog Lizzy was reunited with her family after running loose in Kentucky for six lonely and heart wrenching days! Lizzy's family was fortunate enough to have received a few informational leads as to where she had been spotted which was instrumental in her recovery.

I am sorry to say that Hanah, the dog that went missing following the Joplin, Missouri tornado, has not been found. They are still actively searching for her, so please join their Facebook group,Bring Hanah Home. Hope is not lost.

Herkie, our senior lab with no hope for adoption, is doing wonderfully at his new home in New England.

Herkie needed help getting up on the bed due to his hind end weakness, so his new family made him his own set of doggie stairs! It doesn't look as though Herkie helped much in the construction process, but I am certain his old joints will appreciate the human efforts!

Remember him?

A picture (or two) is worth a thousand words!

Addie's Story: 3 part series...

Addie is doing great after eight years of being separated from her puppyhood home and family! Even in her senior years, she manages to climb into her own bed, and has the occasional left over Filet Mignon!

Addie and Cody are acclimating well to each other, as you can see by the video above. They look for each other all the time and each wants to know what the other is doing at any given time. Addie will not go potty unless Cody comes along too.

Ellie's Story

Ellie, after her visit to the Oncology Department at the Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine is doing great! Oddly, the morning of her appointment, her lesion had seemed to disappear (of course). After discussing it with my husband, we kept the appointment just to be on the safe side. They made some wonderful recommendations for her care, and suggested that surgery was not likely necessary.

After a few days of not even being able to find the lesion, and not a single step of lameness. I decided to hold off on chemotherapy. She has since had no signs of any problems with that foot or leg.

Either of two things happened.

1. The biopsy analyzed by a lab (not associated with Iowa State), was misinterpreted.

2. The well wishes and prayers of people far and wide made a difference.

I prefer to believe it was the latter of the two. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and your concerns. Thanks go out to you from Ellie and her pal, Kirby!

If there is a particular blog story you would like a follow up on, please request one. If there is a topic you would like me to discuss, feel free to suggest!

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Friday, July 22, 2011

A local Iowa family is heartbroken today. They went on a cross country driving vacation. During the trip, they stopped at their sister's house in Ashland, Kentucky. Lizzy stayed there where she would be cared for by family members rather than strangers.

Sadly, on Monday July 18th, Lizzy's collar, complete with identification tags, broke off while visiting and she wandered off at a location with which she is unfamiliar. She was seen briefly the next day but would not come when called.

Lizzy is a petite 40 lb, 2 year old, German Shorthaired Pointer. She is a spayed female, and is liver and white, more commonly known as brown and white. Her head and butt are distinctly marked in solid brown.

She is microchipped with a Home Again microchip, and Home Again has been notified of her missing status, but in my experience, Home Again microchips do not always show up on some microchip scanners. If a shelter is using a non-home again or non-universal microchip scanner, she may appear to not have a microchip. (future blog coming on this topic)

If you are in Kentucky please spread the word about Lizzy. Her family is heartbroken and worried about her.

If you are located in Kentucky, you can help by checking your local shelters, rescues, veterinary clinics, animal control, and petfinder pages for a dog matching Lizzy's description. Please print this page and hang it in public locations for people to see in case she is spotted. Print this page and hand it to the workers at your local shelters, rescues, veterinarians, animal control, and police departments, especially if you are around the city of Ashland, Kentucky or within a 150 mile radius.

If you would like to receive this blog into your email inbox each time it is published, go to http://www.vetrescue.blogspot.com/ , and enter your name into the subscribe box on the upper right side of the page. The blog will send you a confirmation email. Reply as instructed in the email to confirm your subscription. This is a required step. You will then receive the blog as it is published. You will not get junk mail as a result of subscribing!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

I was having lunch the other day, and a woman at another table, knowing the animal lover that I am, asked me for help with her son's dog. Her son's family has a small dog, but their kids were older now and were too busy for the dog. They are trying to find their dog a new home with people that have more time for it since it is not fair to the dog to keep it. So far, they have had no luck. Did I have any ideas?

After sitting and brewing for a few moments. I responded... as gently as I could.

"Unfortunately, getting rid of the dog will only teach the kids that pets are disposable. They should really think about whether that is the lesson they mean to convey to the kids in the household." The woman thought about it, nodded her head, and gave an accepting smile.

"I hadn't thought of that." she said in revelation. Her face revealed an honest moment of enlightenment rather than insult.

I proceeded, "I don't mean to sound rude or blunt with that response, but it's the truth, and it is very difficult to find any dog a new home. Our shelters are full."

My hope is that this revelation led to a discussion with the family.

The truth is that most families are too busy for their pets. We are constantly running one direction then the other, from one event to another. The responsible action is NOT to rehome the pet that you committed to when you brought it home. The responsible action to take is to set aside specific time for the pet. Create a family schedule and commit to it. Reaffirm your commitment to a family member whose choice is to remain with the only family it has ever known.

As a parent, offer the choice of caring for the dog or dropping an event such as basketball practice or favorite TV show to make time for the dog. It may not be the easy choice (for the child or the parent), but it is the responsible choice. If our children can learn loyalty to a team, or dedication to an organization, they should also know that a pet also requires loyalty and dedication. Parents should not be exempt from the pet care schedule, nor should they be solely responsible for it. Parents are the ones that gave permission for the pet to become part of the family. There are proven benefits for children to have pets, including teaching them the importance of dedication through difficult times.

Our younger generation needs to be made aware that an animal is a family member for life. The commitment was made when you brought that puppy or kitten home. That pet plans to see you every day for its entire life. It knows nothing else. It has made the commitment to you for life. It expects nothing else. If you cannot make time to give the animal its care, then something must be dropped from the schedule. The something that must be dropped should not be something that depends on you for life and that is capable of loving you, and missing you when you abandon it. The basketball, the television, these items will not miss you, and they will not die without you.

Rehoming a pet should be reserved for dire circumstance. It should not be a casual decision made out of convenience.

If you would like to receive this blog into your email inbox each time it is published, go to http://www.vetrescue.blogspot.com/ , and enter your name into the subscribe box on the upper right side of the page. The blog will send you a confirmation email. Reply as instructed in the email to confirm your subscription. This is a required step. You will then receive the blog as it is published. You will not get junk mail as a result of subscribing!